A moth is an insect related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be about 160,000 species of moth (nearly ten times the number of species of butterfly),[1] with thousands of species yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are crepuscular and diurnal species.

Differences between butterflies and moths

Moths are not easily differentiated from butterflies. Sometimes the name "Heterocera" is used for moths while the term "Rhopalocera" is used for butterflies to formalize the popular distinction; these, however, have no taxonomic validity. Many attempts have been made to subdivide the Lepidoptera into groups such as the Microlepidoptera and Macrolepidoptera, Frenatae and Jugatae, or Monotrysia and Ditrysia. Failure of these names to persist in modern classifications is because none of them represents a pair of monophyletic groups. The reality is that butterflies are a small group that arose from within the "moths" (being considered as part of Ditrysia of the Neolepidoptera).[2] There is thus no way to group all of the remaining taxa in a monophyletic group, as it will always exclude that one descendant lineage. Also, both their larvae are similar to coleoptera larvae (beetle).

The Modern English word "moth" comes from Old English "moððe" (cf. Northumbrian "mohðe") from Common Germanic (compare Old Norse "motti", Dutch "Mot" and German "Motte" all meaning "moth"). Perhaps its origins are related to the Old English "maða" meaning "maggot" or from the root of "midge" which until the 16th century was used mostly to indicate the larva, usually in reference to devouring clothes.

The study of butterflies and moths is known as lepidoptery, and biologists that specialize in either are called lepidopterists. As a pastime, watching butterflies and moths is known as butterflying and mothing. The latter has given rise to the term "mother" for someone who engages in this activity - sometimes written with a hyphen (moth-er) to distinguish it from the more common word of the same spelling.[citation needed] This confusion does not arise in speech as it is pronounced differently (/ˈmɒθər/, not /ˈmʌðər/).

Attraction to light

Moths frequently appear to circle artificial lights, although the reason for this behavior remains unknown. One hypothesis advanced to explain this behavior is that moths use a technique of celestial navigation called transverse orientation. By maintaining a constant angular relationship to a bright celestial light, such as the Moon, they can fly in a straight line. Celestial objects are so far away, that even after travelling great distances, the change in angle between the moth and the light source is negligible; further, the moon will always be in the upper part of the visual field or on the horizon. When a moth encounters a much closer artificial light and uses it for navigation, the angle changes noticeably after only a short distance, in addition to being often below the horizon. The moth instinctively attempts to correct by turning toward the light, causing airborne moths to come plummeting downwards, and resulting in a spiral flight path that gets closer and closer to the light source.[10]

Mottephobia

Mottephobia is the fear of moths. The origin of the word motte is German (meaning moth) and phobia is Greek (meaning fear).

Notable moths

Atlas moth Attacus atlas – The largest moth in the world White Witch moth (Thysania agrippina), the Lepidopteran with the biggest wingspan Madagascan Sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus), considered to be one of the most impressive and beautiful Lepidoptera[14] Death's-head hawkmoth (Acherontia spp.), is associated with the supernatural and evil and has been featured in art and movies Peppered moth (Biston betularia), the subject of a well-known study in natural selection. Luna moth (Actias luna) Grease Moth (Aglossa cuprina), known to have fed on the rendered fat of humans[15] Emperor Gum moth (Opodiphthera eucalypti) Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa), known to have been a food source for Southeastern indigenous Australians

The name Death's-head Hawkmoth refers to any one of the three species (A. atropos, A. styx and A. lachesis) of moth in the genus Acherontia. The former species is primarily found in Europe, the latter two are Asian, and most uses of the common name refer to the European species. These moths are easily distinguishable by the vaguely human skull-shaped pattern of markings on the thorax. All three species are fairly similar in size, coloration, and life cycle.

These moths have several unusual features. All three species have the ability to emit a loud squeak if irritated. The sound is produced by expelling air from the pharynx, often accompanied by flashing of the brightly-colored abdomen in a further attempt to deter predators. All three species are commonly observed raiding beehives of different species of honey bee for honey; A. atropos only attacks colonies of the well-known Western honey bee, Apis mellifera. They can move about in hives unmolested because they mimic the scent of the bees.[1]

Development

Eggs are laid singly under old leaves of the host plant and are green or grey-blue. None of the three species is restricted to a single family of host plant; hosts are typically in the families Solanaceae, Verbenaceae, Oleaceae, Bignoniaceae, and others. The larvae are stout, reaching 120–130 mm, with a prominent tail horn. All three species have three larval color forms: typically, green, brown, and yellow. Larvae do not move much, and will click their mandibles or even bite if threatened. When mature, they burrow underground and excavate a small chamber where they pupate.

Culture

The skull pattern has helped these moths, particularly A. atropos, earn a negative reputation, such as associations with the supernatural and evil.[2] These moths have been prominently featured in art such as German artist Sulamith Wülfing, and movies such as Un Chien Andalou (by Buñuel and Dalí) and The Silence of the Lambs, and in the artwork of the Japanese metal band Sigh's Hail Horror Hail album. They are also mentioned in Chapter 21 of Bram Stoker's Dracula, where Dracula has been sending moths for Renfield to consume. Traditional legend used to hold that the species was first seen in Britain on the execution of Charles I,[3] but it is more likely to have simply become more common by that time, having arrived with the first transportation of potatoes some centuries earlier. Though rarer, it is still occasionally sighted in the country to this day.[4]

Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Sphinx[5] describes a close encounter with a death's-headed sphinx moth, describing it as “the genus Sphinx, of the family Crepuscularia of the order Lepidoptera.”

The species names atropos, styx and lachesis are all related to death. The first refers to the member of the three Moirai who cuts the threads of life of all beings in Greek mythology; the second to the river of the dead, also in Greek mythology; and the last refers to the Moira who allots the correct amount of life to a being. In addition the genus name Acherontia is derived from Acheron, a river in Greece that was believed in Greek Mythology to be a branch of the river Styx.

Moths are messengers. When they fly around youin great numbers, expect a message to come to you.

A Moth totem awakens an acute sense of smellin their totem people.Ask yourself, "does this person smell right?"They can also awaken an attraction to the opposite sex;however, if the sense is wrong, then that person will repelinstead of attract. Trust in your feelings.

Moths are nocturnal so their peopleare more active during the evenings and nightthan they are in the daylight hours.

A friend of mine has been getting consistent visitations from the moth, and she asked me what I thought. This page is a result of a few meditations with the moth, and symbolic observations.

Moths have similar animal symbolism as butterflies, but have a few distinguishing characteristics that set it far apart from its winged relative.

Namely, the moth is a nocturnal creature, whereas the butterfly is diurnal.

Nocturnal creatures have philosophical symbolism such as:

Dreams Shadows Otherworldliness Secret knowledge Psychic awareness

We gather these symbolic attributes because night creatures conduct their life-sustaining activities in complete darkness.

As humans, we may translate this as symbolic of living our lives by intuitive feeling rather than physical sensory perception.

Philosophically speaking, night creatures do not tumble in the dark, and neither do humans. We use our dreams, our awareness, and our deeper, inner knowing to navigate through the darkest hours of our lives.

Faith is another tool we use to move through shadowy times of uncertainty, and the moth also shares this aspect. The moth never questions provision. She has complete faith that all of her needs will be meet each night.

Even in navigation, when we observe the moth to fly into artificial light or flames, the moth demonstrates its faith and determination.

It is still unproven as to why the moth is driven to light – but the best hypothesis is that the moth navigates by lunar light. In the absence of moonlight, the moth moves to the next best thing: man-made light.

Even at the risk of loosing its life, the moth is ever-vigilant in following its path of light. This may also serve as a moral to us to keep our own vigilance, but not fall victim of blind faith.

Here we see a fragile vulnerability in the moth. The moon is her mother, and she will follow her course at all cost. This makes her open to distraction, vulnerable to harm. Here we may find another message to adjust our course as our path indicates rather than drive forward without heeding important signs along the way.

As a creature of the night, and by her navigational devices, we see the moth is highly influenced by the power of the moon. This aspect ties in with animal symbolism of intuition, and psychic awareness.

Indeed, those with the moth totem will find this creature a magnificent assistant in developing higher awareness, and psychic enhancement.

However, with higher perception we sometimes overstep into the realm of confusion. It is important to seat ourselves in grounding foundations when we step in-tune with the lunar aspects of the moth. In other words, fly high with the moth – but always have a clear runway for happy, safe landings.

The moth continues to be under the influence in matters of love. She emits pheromones that are powerfully strong, attracting her male counterpart through the dark nights. These scented trails can be followed for remarkable distances. Here we see animal symbolism of:

Suggestion Attraction Allure

The female moth is subtle in her scent, wafting out like a loving tendril pulling in her mate. She has no doubt about her ability to attract her lover (those pheromones are powerfully effective!). Us humans would do well to follow the same cue. We do not have to be overt in our advances to attract our mates. Rather, the art of subtle allure can be learned from the moth.

A master of disguise, the moth can blend in to the point of invisibility. This is a metaphor for us to use our environment to our advantage, blend in when necessary, adjust and adapt when the situation requires it.

Mothman is a legendary creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area of West Virginia from 15 November 1966 to 15 December 1967. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register dated 16 November 1966, entitled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something".[1]

Mothman was introduced to a wider audience by Gray Barker in 1970,[2][3] later popularized by John Keel in his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies, claiming that Mothman was related to a wide array of supernatural events in the area and the collapse of the Silver Bridge. The 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies, starring Richard Gere, was based on Keel's book.[4]

History

On Nov. 15, 1966, two young couples from Point Pleasant, Roger and Linda Scarberry, and Steve and Mary Mallette told police they saw a large white creature whose eyes "glowed red" when the car headlights picked it up. They described it as a "flying man with ten foot wings" following their car while they were driving in an area of town known as 'the TNT area', the site of a former World War II munitions plant.[5][6]

During the next few days, other people reported similar sightings. Two volunteer firemen who sighted it said it was a "large bird with red eyes". Mason County Sheriff George Johnson commented that he believed the sightings were due to an unusually large heron he termed a "shitepoke". Contractor Newell Partridge told Johnson that when he aimed a flashlight at a creature in a nearby field its eyes glowed "like bicycle reflectors", and blamed buzzing noises from his television set and the disappearance of his German Shepherd dog on the creature.[7] Wildlife biologist Dr. Robert L. Smith at West Virginia University told reporters that descriptions and sightings all fit the Sandhill Crane, a large American crane almost as high as a man with a seven foot wingspan featuring circles of reddish coloring around the eyes, and that the bird may have wandered out of its migration route.

There were no Mothman reports in the immediate aftermath of the December 15, 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge and the death of 46 people, giving rise to legends that the Mothman sightings and the bridge collapse were connected.[7][8][9]

Claims of later sightings

UFOlogist Jerome Clark writes that many years after the initial events, members of the Ohio UFO Investigators League re-interviewed several people who claimed to have seen Mothman, all of whom insisted their stories were accurate. Linda Scarberry claimed that she and her husband had seen Mothman "hundreds of times," sometimes at close range, commenting, "It seems like it doesn’t want to hurt you. It just wants to communicate with you."[10]

Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman claims that sightings of Mothman continue, and told USA Today he re-interviewed witnesses described in Keel's book who said Mothman was "a huge creature about 7 feet tall with huge wings and red eyes" and that "they could see the creature flapping right behind them" as they fled from it.[11]

Explanations

Paranormal

Some UFologists, paranormal authors, and cryptozoologists believe that Mothman was an alien, a supernatural manifestation, or an unknown cryptid. In his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies, author John Keel claimed that the Point Pleasant residents experienced precognitions including premonitions of the collapse of the Silver Bridge, unidentified flying object sightings, visits from mysterious or threatening men in black, and other bizarre phenomena. However, Keel has been criticized for distorting established data, and for gullibility.[10]

Skeptical

Skeptic Joe Nickell says that a number of hoaxes followed the publicity generated by the original reports, such as a group of construction workers who tied red flashlights to helium balloons. Nickell attributes the Mothman reports to pranks, misidentified planes, and sightings of a barred owl, an albino owl, or perhaps a large snowy owl, suggesting that the Mothman's "glowing eyes" were actually red-eye effect caused from the reflection of light from flashlights or other bright light sources.[5]

Folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand notes that Mothman has been widely covered in the popular press, some claiming sightings connected with UFOs, and others claiming that a military storage site was Mothman's "home". Brunvand notes that recountings of the 1966-67 Mothman reports usually state that at least 100 people saw Mothman with many more "afraid to report their sightings", but observed that written sources for such stories consisted of children's books or sensationalized or undocumented accounts that fail to quote identifiable persons. Brunvand found elements in common among many Mothman reports and much older folk tales, suggesting that something real may have triggered the scares and became woven with existing folklore. He also records anecdotal tales of Mothman supposedly attacking the roofs of parked cars inhabited by teenagers in lovers lanes.[12]

Festivals and statue

Point Pleasant held its first Annual Mothman Festival in 2002 and a 12-foot-tall metallic statue of the creature, created by artist and sculptor Bob Roach, was unveiled in 2003. The Mothman Museum and Research Center opened in 2005 and is run by Jeff Wamsley.[13][14][15] The Festival is a weekend-long event held on the 3rd weekend of every September. There are a variety of events that go on during the festival such as guest speakers, vendor exhibits, and hayride tours focusing on the notable areas of Point Pleasant.[8]

Popular culture

In Episode 2 of the short-lived TV series X-Testers, the researchers attempted to duplicate alleged photographs of Mothman.[16] In X-Files Season 5 episode "Detour," Mulder and Scully encounter creatures related to Mothman. In the video game Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Mothman is one of three Cryptozoology-based monsters along with the Yeti and the Flying Humanoid. It also appears again as an enemy in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. In the Shin Megami Tensei series of video games, Mothman often appears as a demon that the main characters can use as an ally. Mothman appears in an episode of Lost Tapes. Mothman is the alias of Byron Lewis in Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen.

Film

The Mothman Prophecies (2002) Mothman (2010), a Syfy Channel original movie Eyes of the Mothman (2011), a documentary about the Mothman sightings "Mothman Country" (2011), a documentary about Pt. Pleasant's contemporary relationship with the Mothman